Mortar stringer



Oct. 13 1925. 1,556,616

L. LANDKAMER MORTAR S TRI NG'ER Filed June 5. 1922 Patented Oct. 13, 1925.

UNITED STATES LEVI LANDKAMER, OF ALEXANDRIA, NEBRASKA.

MORTAR STRINGERQ Application filed June 5, i922. seria ro. 565,875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEVILANDKAMER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Alexandria, in the county of Thayer and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mortar Stringers, of which the following is a specification. In the laying of walls of concrete blocks, clay blocks, brick, or other similar'materials, it is the practice to string the mortar on the upper surface of the wall adjacent each edge, this mortar string serving to bind the layers of blocks to each other. For good results the mortar throughout the length of the string should have a reasonably uniform' consistency, and because the mortar also spaces the layers it is of considerable importance that the thickness of the mortar layer be uniform at all points in its length. To produce such a string by hand .with only a trowel is a matter of considerable skill and it c anbe'done in a satisfactory manner only by experienced masons. The object of my invention'is the provision of a device whereby any laborer, skilled or unskilled, can lay a string which is more uniform inconsistency and thickness than any which a skilled mason can lay, and whereby the work can be done in a fraction of the time and with a fraction of the labor former- ,ly required.

Having in view these and other objects which will appear in the description, I will now refer to the drawings, in which Figure 1' shows a wall in course of construction, with my invention in use on the wall.

' Figure 2 illustrates the form of my device as it appears when constructed of wood.

Figure 3 shows a similar device made out of sheet metal.

Figure at shows one form of slide which I may use as a closure element for the bottom of the hopper, a being the view from the top, 6 the view from the side, and a the view from the end. v

Figure 5 shows two of the possible'modifications; a

In the form shown in Figure 2, the device is constructed entirely of wood, preferably one-inch lumber. The bottom has a strip ofsimilar material nailed to both end pieces in such a way asv to leave open spaces at both sidesof the strip. The side piece 10 projects beneath the lower ends of the end pieces 11 andbenea'th the bottom strip 12 and serves as a guide when the device is in use. The oppositeside piece 13 is projected to the level of the under side of the bottom strip 12. For convenience a handle 14 may be secured to either of or both of the two end pieces 11. This handle however is susceptible of considerable variation, one of the simplest forms consisting of looped cords secured through holes in the end pieces.

The sheet metal mortar stringer is similar in all essential respects to the one made of wood but it differs therefrom in certain features of constructionwhich arenecessitated by the difference in materials. As shown in Figure 3, the side pieces 10 and 13 are similar to thecorresponding side pieces of the wooden hopper shown in Figure 2. The upper edges of the end pieces 11"" are rolled over at 14* to form hand grips. The ends and sides may be integral and cut out of one piece of sheet metal, in which case there is only one lap, or it may be constructed of individual end and side pieces as shown'in Figure 3. The laps may be either riveted or welded. The'bottom piece 12?.is formed by bending down the lateral edges of a suitable strip of sheet metal, and

r. by bending up the end edges, these bent-up ends being designed to serve as laps in securing the bottom strip 12 to the end walls 11"-.' The down turned sides terminate preferably on a level with the lower edge of the side 18'? and assist in controlling the formof the mortar string, serving incidentally as runners. f V

In use, the workman places the hopper on the wall in theposition shown in Figure 1 and places therein a quantity'of mortar. He then pulls it along the upper surface of the wall to a suitable distance. Either he or another workman then butters the ends of the blocks with mortarand places them imposition on the mortar strings at the edges of the upper surface ofthe wall. If

small quantities of mortar are. needed during I the laying of the blocks, they are taken out of the hopper by means of a, trowel, the hopper being always in a convenient position. Mortar which is trimmed off While the blocks are being laid may be thrown into the hopper.

In removing the hopper from one wall to another, it may be desirable to close the bot-- tom to prevent the waste of mortar. Numerous forms of closure elements are pos sible. Merely by way of illustration I have shown in Figure 5 one form of closure which may be used with the wooden hopper shown in Figure 2. For this purpose the bottom strip 12 is bevelled at its edges as shown, and similar bevelled strips are secured to the side pieces 10 and 13. The closure element shown in Figure 4 has two legs connected by a handle strip. The legs have substantially the dimensions of the slots in the bottom of the hopper, and their edges are bevelled to fit the bevelled edges of the bottom of the hopper. It is understood however that I may vary this closure element in numerous ways. For example I may pro-- vide a bottom which is slidable above or below the bottom strip 12. It is understood also that when the hopper is to be used without the closure shown in Figure 4, the bevelled edges in the bottom of the hopper are dispensed with.

I prefer to use mortar which is in a soft or semi-fluent condition. Such mortar flows evenly and results in a string with a uniformly well rounded surface, but it also flows into crevices and uneven spots caused. by chipping or by defects in the blocks. Sometimes however it is desirable to form a string of different contour than that resulting from the flowing of the mortar from the'hoppers shown in Figures 2 and 3. For this purpose I may cut any desired design in the outlet, and then use a slightly firmer mortar. In Figure 5 I show two of the pos sibilities in the form of the outlet.

I have subjected my mortar stringer to several rigid tests in actual construction work and I have found that it materially improves the quality of the work and materially reduces the cost. No mason, no matter how skilled, .can lay a string of mortar which approaches in uniformity the mortar string which is laid by means of my hopper, and in addition it does most of the touching up which the mason must do by hand. One unskilled laborer can string the mortar as rapidly as three skilled masons can do it by hand. The saving in labor cost is however not restricted to the stringing of the mortar, since the uniformity of the string makes possible the more rapid setting of the blocks. In construction work on farms where much of the labor is done by farm labor, my hopper is particularly useful, since it eliminates the necessity of skilled labor to a very large extent. Because of the great refinement in uniformity, the lines in the finished wall present a more pleasing appearance than when the mortar is strung with a trowel, and the blocks having a more even bearing surface, the wall is more firm and more durable than when constructed by the older methods. The cost of manufacturing the mortar stringer is so low that it can be profitably used by anyone having work of thi kind to do, no matter how small the l My hopper is designed and thus far has been in use primarily in the laying of walls of concrete blocks, and it has been found to be equally efficient when the blocks. are laid with their hollow portions either vertically or horizontally. The hopper could with equal facility be used in the laying of a hollow clay block wall, or in fact with any wall which is laid in horizontal layers. Especially for the so-called ideal wall of brick, which has recently been popularized, my hopper will have all of the advantages which it has in the construction of concrete block walls.

It is evident that numerous changes can be made without departing from the spirit of my invention. I have shown the side piece 10 extending below the level of the runner to serve as a guide, but I may project the wall 13 also. In some instances it may be desirable to lay strings having different widths or thicknesses, or it may be desirable to produce three or more mortar strings. It is obvious that any of these results may be obtained by the simple adjustment of the bottom strip.

Having described my invention and its advantages, what I believe to be new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. A mortar stringer comprising a rectangular receptacle, means at each end of said receptacle for pulling the receptacle along the upper edge of a masonry wall, a bottom for said receptacle, said bottom being provided with longitudinal openings extending from end to end thereof, one of the sides of the said receptacle having its lower edge in the horizontal plane of the said bottom so that the lower edge of the said side is adapted to ride on the upper edge of the wall, the other of the sides of the receptacle having a depending portion which is adapted to bear against the side of the wall.

2. A mortar stringer which is adapted to be moved lengthwise on the upper surface of a wall to deposit a pair of parallel strings of mortar at the edges of the wall, said mortar stringer comprising a rectangular receptacle having end and side walls, one only of said side walls having a depending flange which is adapted to overhang one of the lateral faces of the wall, a pair of lateral runners and a central runner, all of said runners extending lengthwise of the receptacle to partially close the bottom opening thereof, there being thus formed a longitudinal opening on each side of 'the said central runner the upper surfaces of all of said runners being bevelled on their edges adjacent the longitudinal openings, and a U- shaped closure for the longitudinal openings, the parallel portions of said U-shaped 1 closure being bevelled on its lower surface at all of the edges thereof.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

LEVI LANDKAMER. 

